Planoarapit co



E. E. HOLT.

VALVE CAP AND THE LIKE.

. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1. I918.

1,318,873. Patented 00t.14,1919.

50 one form of valve cap and nut embodying UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD E. HOLT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HOLT AUTO DEVICES COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

VALVE-CAP AND THE LIKE.

Patented Oct. 14, 1919.

Applicationfiled November 1, 1918. Serial No. 260,710.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD E. HOLT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve-Caps and the like, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has to do with improvements in caps for valves and has particular reference to improvements in valve caps for tire valves. While the features of the invention are very well adapted for this particular class of service, they are not limited to such class of service. The invention also has reference to the manner of attachment of the valve stem to the wheel felly, and to the relationship of such attaching means to the valve cap itself.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a valve cap of such construction that it can be slipped down over the valve stem and snapped intolocking position without having to thread the cap down over the threads of the stem. In the past, it hasbeen customary to thread the valve cap onto the stem, so that it could only be attached to or disconnected from thefstem by a laborious threading or unthreading operation. By the use of the features of the present invention, this threading operation is eliminated and it is made possible to very quickly insert or remove the'valve cap by a direct attaching or detaching operation.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the construction of the parts and reduce the amount of metal in them, to thereby reduce the cost of manufacture and eliminate the possibility of disarrangement in actual service. 7

Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detailed description of the same which consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings: I Figure-1 shows asi le elevation of a valve stem having applied thereto the cap and nut of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the features of the present invention, being on enlarged scale; 1

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4: is a viewsiniilar to Fig. 2, with the exception that it shows a modified construction; and

Fig.5 is a section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.-

In the particular construction illustrated, the wheel felly i's designated by the numeral 6 and the valve stem by the numeral 7 The lower end 8 of the valve stem is connected to the tire or tube in any convenient manner, and the valve stem itself passes up through a hole in the felly and projects a suitable distance beyondthe outside face of the felly. This type of construction is well known and understood inthe art.

The valve stem is generally threaded throughout its length, as shown in Fig. 1. Ordinarily a nut of some kind 9 is threaded onto the stem adjacent the inside face of the felly, as shownin Fig. 1, or at any rate a suitable abutment is provided at that point.

Onto the projecting or protruding portion of the valve stem I thread or otherwise suitably attach a nut or member 10. The same is provided with the threads 11, as shown in Fig. 2, which engage the threads of the valve stem. .A. dust washer or gasket 12 is set between the inner face of the nut v 10 of the outside face of the felly and is clamped-between these parts when th nut is, drawn up.- A convenient type of constructionis that illustrated in which a periplieral flange 13 'isfformed on the inner portion of the nut and embraces the periphery of the washer or gasket 19.. This washer or gasket may be conveniently made up as a disk of leather or composition.

The nut 10 is preferably provided with a milled finger ring 14: by which it may be tightened up without the necessity of using a special tool for this purpose.

The dust cap is designated in its entirety by the numeral 15. It comprises a hollow tube of slightly greater diameter than the diameter of the valve stem and of such length that it can be set down over the valve stem and suitably locked or engagedto the nut 10 or some other stationary element. The outer end 16 of the dust cap is closed as shown in Fig. 1.

A convenient type of construction for sup porting and retaining the dust cap is that illustrated in the drawing. In this case, a circular flange 17 projects upwardly from the nut 10 a suitable distance from the threads 11 to provide a socket or recess into which the lower end 18 of the dust cap may set. This socket or recess is of sufficiently larger diameter than the threads 11 to accommodate the lower portion of the dust cap notwithstanding the fact that the dust cap itself is sufliciently large to inclose the valve stem.

Means are provided for locking the dust cap to the nut by a snapping operation, so that the dust capcan be forced directly into engagement with the nut, and will thereupon be retained therein. The arrangement is also such that the dust cap can be pulled away from the nut upon exerting a sufiicient pull.

The locking operation is for this purpose performed by the use of one or more steel balls or the like 19 carried by the nut and cooperating with a suitable recess or recesses 20 in the lower portion 18 of the dust cap. This recess or recesses are sufficiently deep to provide a substantial amount of locking engagement, but this engagement can be immediately broken by exerting sufficient pull on the dust cap. Ordinarily, the recess should be of a depth less than onehalf the diameter of the locking ball, but at any rate there should be exerted a sufficient cam; action on the ball to permit of the disengagement. Also the lower edge 21 of the dust cap should be slightly curved or beveled so as to facilitate the insertion of the dust cap and the passage of said lower edge past the ball 19.

The ball aforesaid works within a passage or channel 22 extending transversely or radially of the nut, and is normally spring-pressed inwardly by means of a helical spring 23. The inner end of this spring presses against th ball and the outer end of the spring rests against an inturned flange 24 which fully or partially closes the outer end of the passage or channel 22. The inward. movement of the ball under the influence of its. spring is limited by another flange 25 at the inner end of the passage or channel, so that upon withdrawing the dust cap from the nut, the ball will be retained in proper position within the passage or channel. Nevertheless said flange 25 does not prevent the movement of the 'ball, inwardly a sufficient distance to secure the locking engagement aforesaid.

Ordinarily it will be desirable to provide a seriesv of several notches or recesses 20 so as to facilitat the locklng engagement of the cap to the nut. By forcing the cap down onto the nut and then turning it a slight distance one or the other of said recesses 20 will take the ball 19 in looking fashion.

It is for some reasons undesirable to permit any rotary movement of the valve cap with respect to the nut, both parts being held against rotation with respect to the valve stem. In the modified construction shown in Figs. 4; and 5, this result is secured. It is to be observed that the valve stem illustrated in Fig. 1 ha the flat sides 26, this being a familiar type of construc tion at present widely in use. In the modifled construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the lower portion 18 of the valve cap is provided with a pair of flattened portions 27 and 28 adapted to seat against the flattened faces 26 of th valve stem, thereby permitting the cap to be readily set down over or withdrawn from the valve stem while preventing relative rotation between these two parts. In the construction shown in these figures, the socket in the nut is also provided with flattened portions for the accommodation of the flattened portions 27 and 28 of the cap, thereby locking the nut and cap together against any relative rotation. Inasmuch as the cap is also locked against rotation with respect to the stem, it follows that by the use of this arrangement the nut is prevented from rotating with respect to the stem and is, therefore, locked solidly against rotation as long as the cap is in position on the stem.

Vlfhile I have illustrated the dust cap as settlng onto the nut 10 which also serves as a retainer for the valve stem, still it is evident that the dust cap might be forced into some other device adjacent to or surrounding the valve stem, and which would not be threaded thereonto. Consequently, while I have shown and described in this application only a certain embodiment involving the features of the present invention, still I do not limit myself to the said embodiment except as I- may do so in the claims.

Also, I desire to point out the fact that although I have herein shown the use of a ball for securing the locking engagement, still I do not limit myself to such arrangement except as I may do so in the claims, but I contemplate within the scope of my invention any equivalent construction for securing this locking engagement, since the portion of the ball which performs the locking function is in effect only a cam, and might be replaced by any other suitable form of cam.

I claim:

1. The combination with a felly of a wheel and a valve stem extending therethrough, of a nut threaded onto said stern and having a circular recess in its face adjacent to the folly, a dust Washer within said recess and clamped between the nut and the outer face of the folly, there being a socket in the outer portion of said nut of greater size than the valve stem, a radially extending passage in the nut, a ball therein, a spring normally pressing said ball inwardly, means for limiting the extent of such movement when the ball projects partially into the socket aforesaid, and a dust cap removably mounted in said socket, said dust cap comprising a tubular member of size suitable to embrace the valve stem and of length suitable to cover over and inclose the valve stem, the outer end of said tubular member being closed, the inner end of the tubular member seating within the socket aforementioned and having its lower end beveled, and there being a recess or the like in the exterior face of the lower portion of the dust cap adapted to receive the protruding portion of the ball aforesaid for locking purposes, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a wheel felly and a valve stem extending therethrough, said valve stem having a longitudinally flattened surface, of a locking member threaded onto the valve stem and in' clamping engagement with respect to the outer surface of the folly, there being a circular socket in the outer portion of said member and, of greater size than the valve stem, there being a transversely extending passage in the locking member, a ball working in said passage, a spring for normally forcing the same in- Oopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

wardly, means for limiting the extent of such movement, the socket aforesaid being provided with diametrically opposite flattened portions corresponding to the fiattened surfaces on the valve stem, and a tubular dust cap having its outer end closed and covering over the projecting portion of the valve stem and having its inner end seated Within the socket aforesaid and of contour corresponding to that of the socket, said inner end being beveled, and there being a recess in the exterior surface of the lower portion of said dust cap for the accommodation of the projecting portion of the ball aforesaid, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a wheel felly and a valve stem extending therethrough, said valve stem having portions of its exterior surface threaded and having portions of non-circular cross section, of a locking member threaded onto the valve stem and in clamping engagement with respect to the outer surface of the felly, there being a socket in the outer portion of said member of contour similar to but greater than that of the valve stem at that point, and a tubular dust cap having its outer end closed and covering over and protecting the projecting portion of the valve stem and having its in ner end of contour the same as that of the socket, said inner end seating into and occupying the space between the lower portion of the valve stem and the surface of the socket to thereby establish a locking connection between the valve stem and locking member, substantially as described.

' EDWARD E. HOLT.

Washington, D. O. 

